


Pact

by Cephy



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Best Friends, Demons, Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-03
Updated: 2011-10-03
Packaged: 2017-10-24 06:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/260401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cephy/pseuds/Cephy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Flynn is willing to try anything to make the Empire a better place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pact

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "Yuri/Flynn, an AU where one of them is a demon summoned by the other -- maybe Flynn's desperate for enough power to make the Empire a better place, or maybe Yuri's looking to raise hell a little more literally than usual. Whoever's the summoner, the demon is not quite what he expected".

It's an act of sheer desperation, stealing the chalk and candles from the summoner up on the market level. It's probably stupid, too; everyone knows that demons never keep their word, and that you have to be so, so careful in dealing with them to make sure they don't steal away your heart when you're not paying attention.

But here Flynn is anyway, with a white circle drawn on the stones of the alley, and the candles casting dancing shadows where the moon doesn't reach. He takes in a deep breath and holds it as the light shifts, draws tight and then splits right down the center.

The demon looks human, which shouldn't reassure him-- only the really powerful ones are that good at disguising themselves-- but does anyway. He'd been bracing for something ugly and, well, _demonic_ , with horns or fiery breath or something. In comparison, the lean, black-haired man looking down at him in surprise is kind of a let-down.

"Hunh," the demon says. It crouches down, putting its eyes and Flynn's on about the same level. "Hello, Flynn."

Flynn blinks. "How do you know my name?" he blurts. He only just remembers not to meet the demon's gaze, staring instead somewhere around its nose.

The demon shrugs. "I was told I'd meet you someday. Seems like someone left out a few details, though." It aims a half-hearted glare up towards the sky, then returns to fix Flynn with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young to be summoning demons?"

Flynn frowns, defensive. "I'm not stupid," he says, stepping forward and crossing his arms. "And it's not that hard. I don't know why the summoners make such a big deal of it."

"Trust me, most of the time it really _is_ a big deal. Guess you've just got the talent." The demon grins at him; flattered, Flynn almost smiles back before he remembers what he's doing.

He takes a deep breath, trying to remember what he'd practiced. "As I summoned you, I command you," he recites, stumbling only a little over the words. "This is my bidding: you will make the Empire a fair and equal place for all its citizens, rich and poor alike."

The demon lets out a low whistle. "That's a pretty tall order," it says, shaking its head. "You probably should have summoned a few more of me."

Flynn's heart sinks. "You can't do it?"

"Didn't say that. It's possible. Just going to take me a while."

Flynn thinks about that, then nods once. "That's fair," he says.

The demon gives a little huffing sound, like a stifled laugh. "Glad to have your approval." It pauses, tipping its head to the side. "Out of curiousity, what have you got against the Empire?"

Habit makes Flynn cut his eyes away and scuff a foot, his mind already sorting through excuses-- talking out against the Empire is usually a good way to get cuffed by the nearest Knight. "I don't--"

"Flynn." The demon's voice is quiet, but firm. "You don't need to lie to me."

Flynn looks up and meets the demon's eyes before he can think better of it. They are dark and clear and kind of make his chest feel tight, but only for a second. "It's-- it's just _wrong_ ," Flynn says, loud enough that his voice echoes off the brick. "There are people in the Lower Quarter who don't have food or water, and no one in the castle even cares. They don't do anything to help. But anytime someone commits a crime, we're the first ones they come looking for."

"Hm," the demon says. "You know, most people in your position would just ask me to get rid of the nobles. That's the easiest solution."

Flynn blinks. "No! No, I don't-- I'm sure not _all_ of them are bad," he says gamely. "Some of them probably don't know any better, and they don't deserve to get hurt any more than we do. It's just-- I just want--" Flynn breaks off, frustrated, scowling as he hunts for words. "I just want things to be better," he finishes weakly.

For a long minute the demon just looks at him with those dark eyes, and Flynn finds he can't look away. Doesn't want to look away. Then it blinks, breaking the spell. "Okay," it says simply, then gives Flynn a fierce, wicked grin. "We're gonna change the world, you and me. You know that?"

Tentatively, Flynn smiles back.

The demon lifts a hand and moves forward-- keeps moving right over the chalk lines of the protection circle, which doesn't make sense until Flynn looks down to see chalk dust on his toe and a wide scuff where the cardinal rune should be. For one moment-- a heartbeat-- Flynn is terrified.

The demon stops a step away, its hand hovering in mid-air. "No need for that," it says gently. "I'm not going to hurt you." Its eyes are nearly incandescent in the shadows, intent and overwhelming. "I'd never hurt you, Flynn," it finishes, almost too quiet to hear.

Flynn manages one deep breath, then another as the fear eases away a little. He takes in a third breath and holds it as he nods, once.

The demon takes the final step and puts its hand on Flynn's forehead. Flynn closes his eyes against a dizzy wave.

His heart beats.

Flynn opens his eyes and blinks hard until his vision stops swimming. He's in an alley-- though he can't seem to remember _why_ or even how he got there-- and it's night-time. He looks around slowly, and ends up staring hard at the clean-swept cobbles of the ground. For a moment he feels like he's on the edge of something, like there's a word on the tip of his tongue, like something really, really important is just out of reach--

"You ready to go?" a voice asks.

He turns. There's another boy standing at the mouth of the alley, black-haired and skinny. "Who are you?" Flynn asks.

The boy rolls his eyes. "Someone was out in the sun too long. I'm Yuri. Don't you remember?"

Yuri. Of course. Of course he remembers. Flynn shakes his head. "What are we doing here?" he says, and it's mostly an accusation-- if it's something dumb, it must have been Yuri's idea.

"Leaving, obviously. Come on."

Flynn walks up until he can bump into Yuri's shoulder; Yuri bumps him right back, hard enough to nearly send Flynn rebounding into the wall, then runs off, laughing.

Grinning, Flynn takes off in pursuit.


End file.
